UK.D-I-Y FAQ
Everything you wanted to know about DIY but were afraid to ask...
Purpose of this Document
This document is written with the help of, and approved by, the regular contributors to the uk.d-i-y usenet newsgroup. Please read it before posting to the uk.d-i-y newsgroup. This document acts in lieu of a formal "charter" for the uk.d-i-y newsgroup. It explains what the group is for, gives guidelines on what is and what isn't considered acceptable practice in this newsgroup, and tells you where you can find answers to many DIY problems.
What is uk.d-i-y?
DIY stands for "Do It Yourself" - from putting up shelves to building a house - everything to do with maintaining, running, and improving your home. Doing the job yourself saves the expense of employing somebody else to do it, often gives better results (you have to live with them after all!), and can be both enjoyable to do and provide a great deal of satisfaction.
UK stands for United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), and is very relevant because so many aspects of DIY, such as practices, regulations, and where to get particular products, are country-specific. Questions are welcomed from elsewhere around the globe, of course, but the advice given may not be applicable to those areas.
Questions about motor vehicles are not in the scope of this group. You'll find appropriate forums in the uk.rec.cars.maintenance hierarchy.
The uk.telecom hierarchy is more appropriate for questions about phones.
The very popular uk.rec.gardening newsgroup discusses all matters to do with gardening in the UK. It overlaps with uk.d-i-y in matters such as hard landscaping and the construction of sheds, ponds and pools.
Who "owns" the newsgroup?
This newsgroup is unmoderated, and nobody "owns" it - anyone is free to post here. The FAQ maintainer has no privileges compared with anyone else. That is why it is everyone's responsibility to try to preserve order by attempting to follow basic netiquette guidelines and to adhere to the wishes expressed in this posting.
This democratic forum allows anyone who disagrees with the status quo to air their grievances, and if it seems that a majority of regulars agree, then changes can be implemented. The Google website archives all postings to many newsgroups including uk.d-i-y, unless their authors have specifically marked them otherwise. The archive can be searched by newsgroup (forum), author and/or subject and can thus reveal both the record of a contributor (i.e. whether or not they are a regular and whether or not they abide by the rules of the group), and allow previous discussions to be referenced. This gives the information in this document authority without it having to be ratified by a formal vote.
Can I advertise on uk.d-i-y?
COMMERCIAL ADVERTISING IS FORBIDDEN ON UK.D-I-Y. This is an interactive forum, and the good "signal to noise ratio" of uk.d-i-y will be spoilt by those who selfishly exploit it. If you want to advertise, go to news:uk.adverts.. (etc) or start an appropriate newsgroup (see http://www.usenet.org.uk). If you do abuse this newsgroup with commercial adverts ("spamming"), be aware that your efforts will be counter productive since the group has readership that will simply actively avoid your products, and no longer recommend them to others. Likewise spam posted to the wiki pages will simply be deleted, and your further access to the pages will be limited to "read only".
Company representatives (who are often valued experts) are welcome to suggest their products where a genuine question has been asked on the subject, but only if they answer the questions put, and should note that planted questions will be obvious. Company representatives may mention their products, services or websites in the signature of their replies to questions but signatures longer than four 75-character lines will be considered abuse. The Reference parts of the FAQs contain listings of companies useful to the DIYer, but these are only included on recommendations from regulars with no vested interests - you will not be listed if you spam uk.d-i-y.
Private individuals wishing to sell (or give away!) relevant items can use this group to advertise them, within reason, so long as they post a follow-up when what is for sale is no longer available.
To uk.d-i-y-ers: Please complain strongly to Internet Service Providers about advertising in this newsgroup if it transgresses the above guidelines: a small amount of effort on your part will help to keep the group usable: see the guidelines at http://digital.net/~gandalf/spamfaq.html. The more complaints ISPs receive, the more likely they are to act.
Copyright Information
All parts of this FAQ are Copyright by the FAQ Maintainer and all rights are reserved. The pages are made available as a service to the Internet community. They may not be sold in any medium, including electronic, CD-ROM, or database, packaged with any commercial product, or published in print, without the explicit, written, permission of the FAQ Maintainer. The copyright of included material belongs to the original author and is reproduced here with the author's permission.
Disclaimer
Although contributors to the uk.d-i-y newsgroup have an impressive depth of knowledge, they cannot be held liable for any consequences whatsoever of the information or advice they provide, either on the uk.d-i-y newsgroup, in the uk.d-i-y FAQ, or in the uk.d-i-y Wiki.
DIY can go wrong, with expensive or even dangerous consequences, and it therefore must be stressed that nothing should be attempted without applying common sense, and only if you are confident in your ability to carry out the job with safety (both your own and others') and successfully. You cannot expect answers to your questions to include a complete list of possible pitfalls, although people will very frequently remind you of some of them. Remember that the advice has been given to you in good faith for free, and neither its accuracy nor legality can be relied upon.
If you are unsure about anything then do please ask - it is much less embarrassing than blowing yourself up or having your house collapsing around your ears.
Finally, postings from company email addresses are personal to the poster, and do not necessarily represent the views of the company supplying the Internet connection.
Happy DIY-ing!
From the "regulars" of uk.d-i-y.